Brammeier powerless to act as stolen €7,500 bike sells on eBay for €2,500

Three–time Irish national road race champion, Matt Brammeier has vented his frustration at his Omega Pharma-Quick Step team as well as Belgian police for their lack of action in helping him get his bike back after it was stolen from his car following a race last month.

The bike, a limited edition Specialized S-Works venge complete with Zipp wheels and assorted other items, was valued at between €7,500 and €8,000.

He was staying at the Auberge Du Pecheur hotel in the Sint-Martens-Latem region of Belgium following a criterium when the incident occurred four weeks ago.

Following a race he put his bike in the car boot as usual, covered it and locked the doors. But when he woke in the morning to check on it, the bike wasn’t there. Brammeier later spotted it for sale on eBay.

The bike was sold for just over €2,500 last weekend after having been stolen by what Brammeier believes was a group of Latvians who’ve earned a reputation for such thefts on the Continent. But he has all but given up hope of ever riding it again.

“It’s my bike and I contacted police but they don’t really want to do anything,” he said in frustration.

“I don’t know if there’s anything I can do now. It’s my bike but to be honest it’s not really my bike… the team had to pay for it. I’ve told the police it was for sale and I’ve told eBay it was for sale and I’ve told everyone it’s stolen but that’s about all I can do.”

“Nobody really seems to be able to do anything. I think it’s in Germany but I spoke to the police yesterday and they said there have been a load of robberies around that area where it was stolen.”

Brammeier has all the contact details of the seller but has admitted to all but giving up his pursuit of it.

“I know the guy’s name. I have his telephone number and his Facebook page and everything but I can’t drive to Latvia and get the bike back can I? It’s not really going to do much is it? What can I say to him? It’s already finished now anyway. It’s already sold. It’s probably gone.”

“I’m just disappointed as well with the reaction I’ve gotten from my team. They didn’t seem to be bothered. Like, it just frustrates me that some f*cker has got my bike and he’s making money from it after breaking into my car… It’s f*cking annoying.”

“It’s no bother to me (financially) because I got a bike straight from the team a few hours later and I’m sure they can claim on the insurance but it’s the principle of it.”

Comments

comments

Where did the name come from?

A stickybottle, put simply, is the knackered cyclist’s best friend.
As a rider is being dropped from a group, the team manager or support worker in a following car holds a bottle out the window to hand it up.
As the handover is taking place, the rider grabs the bottle tight, as does whoever is handing it up, enabling the rider get a good tow and push from momentum of the car.
It’s known as a stickybottle because it appears neither the rider nor the person handing it up is able to take their hand off the bottle; it looks stuck to their hands.
But please don’t try this at home. We’ve been slyly cheating this way all our lives; it takes a while to perfect.